Behind the story of A Crafter Knits a Clue by Holly Quinn

Holly Quinn is both an avid reader and crafter. She sells her artistic creations locally and dreamed of one day opening a gift shop to sell local artist’s handiwork. Instead, she began writing about it, which is how the Handcrafted Mystery series was born. A Crafter Knits a Clue is the first book in the series.

A Crafter Knits a Clue comes from a love of crafting

Holly said that as someone who paints, quilts, sews, and gardens, she’s always fantasized about owning a local shop where townspeople could sell their wares. “I’m genuinely interested and seek to purchase handcrafted items as they are vastly unique and created with love… much like writing. However, I also LOVE a good mystery. I combined the two and voila! My books are written strictly from a very curious mind. My mother always said as a child I asked way too many questions. Why does this happen? Why did that happen? It’s why I LOVE a good mystery. I’m always looking for what isn’t said or what is hidden within the text, people’s motives etc.… In that way alone, I’m much like my main character, Sammy Kane.”

Pouring everything into writing

“I take this writing gig very seriously,” Holly said. “I often begin my workday in the wee hours of the morning—like 4 AM with plenty of coffee. I hope in doing so, readers are entertained to the point of not wanting to put the book down and my work ‘stands out’ in a flooded market. Writing and art are the only times I feel the freedom of ‘living in the moment.’ The minute I’m done writing or creating, my mind is completely unfocused and seriously a bit attention deficit to be honest.”

Holly said there are three characters in the book who share the initials S.H.E. “The initialsrepresent SHE Detective Agency—a pretend club from their youth. This was based on an actual club I had created during my grade school years which I teased someday I would write about … and here I am! If you liked reading Nancy Drew as a child as much as I did, this series might be right up your alley!”

Christmas in July

“While working on the holiday book for this series, I purchased an essential oil necklace and breathed in the scent of Christmas during the hot and humid summer to think Christmas thoughts. And watched a lot of Christmas in July on Hallmark! I told my husband he might come home from work to find the house decorated, lights blinking, the air-conditioning set to full blast, and a house full of people ready to spend a fictional holiday.

About the Author

I started out as a skip tracer. Just in case you don’t know, that’s the guy who finds the people who don’t want to be found. It was the little things—getting paid to lie—that made skip tracing the fun part of the job.

Those years of chasing deadbeats taught me many valuable life lessons, such as liars come from all walks of life, and always keep your car in the garage.

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